Yesterday I was at one of my suppliers buying european cherry and I also got one board of Brazilian rose wood that had been lying around since the 1970’s. It has nice grain no defects but was a bit expensive. After a bit of dealing I got him down to the equivalent of $150 US dollars which came out to about $3000 per cubic meter. The board is 3.10m by 33cm by 6cm thick. It was like four times what I pay for european or American cherry so what I wanted to know is is it worth that price.
Philip
Replies
Who knows. It's too late now - you've already bought it.
Phillip,
you got it cheap in my opinion. Brazilian rosewood is a species on the CITES list that is still in high demand. The only way that they're harvesting it now is going back to the forest and cutting the stumps off at ground level. Pieces this size are not common commercially
I'd hold onto it until you know exactly what you're doing
eddie
Yeah at that price that was sort of the idea I had too. It was one of those pieces of wood that was so beautiful that you get hit with that "I have to have it" syndrome. And I have no idea what to do with it so it goes onto the rack with all the other unmatchable weird woods that require a small job to use......someday.
Philip
Wop, the metric converter between my ears isn't so swift anymore, but it sounds like the piece you have is about 2-1/2" X 13" X 10' and that's a very big piece of rosewood.
This species (Dalbergia nigra) had the misfortune of being native to the coastal forests of southeastern Brazil, which have been heavily exploited since the establishment of the early Potuguese settlements in that region some three Centuries ago. Also, by Brazilian standards, it's a rather small tree...and the worst part is the beautifully pigmented heartwood occurs in only the oldest and most decrepid trees.
Supplies of this wood are virtually exhausted and it can't be plantation replentished without dedicating at least a century (perhaps longer) to the effort. So, for all practical purposes what you have is something that could not be replaced by nature until at least your great grandchildren are your age.
It is a rare thing. Use it for a high purpose.
Edited to note:
Price wise, you stold it.
Edited 4/30/2003 10:54:07 PM ET by Jon Arno
Edited 4/30/2003 11:32:04 PM ET by Jon Arno
I kind of had an Idea that it was rare... but I didn't think that rare. Here no one is much interested in rosewood so you can find around a good bit left over from its heyday in the 1960's and early 1970's mostly african though.How rare is the african rosewood which I think is also called blackwood?
Thanks Philip
p.s. After your post I almost feel guilty. I build furniture mostly and it would seem to be a waste to use it for that. I will consider reselling it to someone who builds instruments who could use it more worthily.That is if I can bring myself to part with it ,it is one nice piece of wood.
Philip, none of the world's 18 or so commercially significant rosewoods are what you might call plentiful. African blackwood is still available and often used as a substitute for the also very rare ebonies. Many of the Southeast Asian species of rosewood remain moderately plentiful, certainly more so than the South American species; Brazilian rosewood, kingwood and tulipwood. Honduras rosewood and cocobolo, from Central America, are still in supply, but becoming more expensive daily. The species you have is probably the rares of them all right now. It's been taken off the market by the Brazilian government, through international agreement. Brazil's borders are so porous, though, I'm sure it's still being smuggled out on occasion.
Use of the rosewood plank you have in making musical instruments would be a noble application, but probably not its best use. Instrument makers seldom need large pieces and what is remarkable about the plank you have is its size. It would probably be far more valuable to an architect or to someone making large pieces of very high-end furniture.
Edited 5/1/2003 8:18:22 PM ET by Jon Arno
And, Jon, has it occurred to you, or anyone else, what he paid for that wee chunk of firewood? About US$5.76+ a board foot!! The last I heard, about a fortnight ago, they were selling cheap (sic) old Honduras Rosewood at $15 a board foot here in Houston, approximately 50% more than I last paid for the stuff about three years ago. Jings. Slainte. Website The poster formerly known as Sgian Dubh.
Hi Richard,
Yes, it occurred to me as well, my guess on it's worth was approx AUD6-700 (US 400). I would have bought it and then sold it on when necessary.
The price is what originally got me posting.
Mike Taylor (PlaneWood) must be spitting chips - this would have kept him going for a while
eddie
Edited 5/2/2003 2:40:46 AM ET by eddie (aust)
Yes Richard. I'd tacked on a short edit to my earlier post that, price wise, he'd stole it. Even if that plank had been a bunch of narrow shorts; 1x6-2ft pieces making up the same board footage, he got it for something less than 30% of Brazilian rosewood's current market value here in the Midwest (if you can find it at all.) I haven't seen rosewood in dimensions like the plank described here since I was in my teens....ahhhh, that's a number of decades ago...let me see?...ahhhh, If you'll wait a minute while I take off my shoes, I'll probably be able to tell you about how many. :o)
"I build furniture mostly and it would seem to be a waste to use it for that. I will consider reselling it to someone who builds instruments who could use it more worthily"
God bless you! I think it's sort of a sin to use wood so rare for anything but a musical instument. Rosewood, especially Brazilian have musical properties for guitars that have been likened to the attributes of a Stativarius violin. Sale to a luthier will yeild you a tidy profit too! A board that large would yeild many guitar sets worth hundreds of dollars each.
I agree. There certainly is not enough to build a piece of furniture. It's use in furniture making would be for smalls (jewelry boxes) or cut as veneer.
It ought to be used by an instrument maker.
Edited 5/4/2003 9:06:35 AM ET by CHASSTANFORD
I don't know what the new stuff sells for. It can be one of the most beautiful, and fragrant woods around. Highly prized for guitars: http://www.alliedlutherie.com
Philip,
You have a truly unique piece of wood. As everyone else has suggested, keep it until you are really sure of what to do with it. There are a lot of people out there that would give their eye teeth for that piece - myself included, so I would also suggest taking extra precaution in storing it and keeping it safe. I have also been fortunate if finding stashes of very old exotic woods - Brazilian rosewood included, but nothing that size. It is very rare indeed.
Cheers, Konrad - who is wondering where you live :)
I live in Basiano province of Milano Italy. In the bottom of an area called Brianza which is the home of the Italian furniture industry. Which in turn is why you find bits of odd wood left over from years back ,since it it no longer commercial and available in large quantities the industry doesn't want it so it sits around for someone like me to find.
Philip
Hi Philip,
Boy that is even tougher now - I have always wanted to travel to Italy. Now I have 2 reasons to go.
I live in southern Ontario Canada, just outside of Toronto. Most of the wood I have found arrived here in the 40's and 50's via Germany - most of which sat there for 20-30 years. It is a joy to find such remarkable wood. It took me a long time to build up the courage to cut into that first piece of Brazilian rosewood - I must have stood there for 2 hours with sweaty palms. I have learned to get over it, but every once in a while, I still step back and stare at the wood in awe. I think I may have apologized a few times as well.
Cheers, Konrad
Yeah I know that feeling .I recently picked up in two places 4 different types of rosewood.I don't know even the exact species of rosewood that 3 of them are and these old guys at small lumber yards who bought the stuff 30 or 40 years ago don't remember or don't know exactly what they are. The Brazilian will sit there for a few years until I manage to design something that is right for it. But even the African rosewood is so nice that it is a bit intimidating to cut into.
I usually design and build in domestic hard woods, mostly pear , European cherry and european walnut so I fine the dark , visually heavy woods more difficult to design with, but you can bet that I will start out with sweaty plams wen I make the first cuts.
Philip
I will be looking at a "piece" of African Blackwood in the next few days. It is quite big - more like a log than a piece actually. I have not worked with Blackwood before but have worked with ebony quite a bit. I have been told that the blackwood is even nicer - less prone to chipping and "works" better. I am hoping to return home with it, as some of it is already spoken for. What has your experience been between working with ebony vs blackwood?
The sweaty palms will dry up as soon as you start working with it and the grain is revealed. All the fear will be replaced with jubilation.
Cheers, Konrad
Now you know the value, are going back to buy more?
Actually this was the only board left of it's stock if there was any more of it, yes I would get it. Now the only stuff he has available is one or two cubic meters in all different shapes and lengths that is left over fron cutting veneer and then was obviously left out in the back under the rain for 20 or 30 years (basically at the time considered inferior grade to be thrown away or sold off cheap). The owner of the lumber yard says it's brazilian rose wood but from looking at it you can't tell, it's in too bad a shape. My guess is that 50% to 60% of each board would be to throw away.
But I might pick up a small piece to see if it is recoverable since he was asking for it half what I paid for the first piece. Ya never know I might have found a lifetime supply of rosewood (if it is dalbergia nigra).
Philip
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled